60's singer-songwriter will be at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on Nov. 1

Joan Baez is one of the '60s most memorable figures. The long, flowing hair; the warm, crystalline soprano; and the unabashed political activism: It all blended to create a folk-music icon who served as a Bob Dylan muse and a captivating performer whose voice crossed generations and genres.

Judging from this year's"75th Birthday Celebration" release, Baez still sounds terrific. But the singer, who just a scored a nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, doesn't see herself on stage forever. Chatty and endearing, she talked about her future and career during a call to plug her Tuesday, Nov. 1, show at the Celebrity Theatre.

Answer: Good. I got just back from the gym, so I was watching all these men hoist stuff around.

Q: Speaking of staying in shape, how do you keep your voice sounding so good?

A: Well, it is not easy. Starting in the mid-30s, you start fighting gravity. Now, it’s completely changed. Now, it’s like, "How can I get to the note I want as fast as I can?" When I quit, it will because it takes too much effort.

Q: Do you really plan to stop?

A: Yes, I do. Why would I not?

Q: But you see so many musicians today performing into their 80s.

A:There are, but probably none of those people are known for their voice. That was the gift here. I’m not a rock and roller, a hitmaker. I’m highly dependent on what’s coming out of these vocal cords. (Mick) Jagger isn’t. (Bob) Dylan isn’t. Pete Seeger wasn’t. And, you know, vanity comes into it. Plus, people won’t tell you. No one is going to say, “Baez, you sound like (expletive)!"

Q: But wouldn’t you miss it? Or are you not one of those “Get me to the stage!” types?

A:Next year, I’m not going to tour, I’m going to be making an album, so we’ll find out. I know that when I quit, there will probably be some psychological burdens coming along with it.

Joan Baez began her recording career in 1960.(Photo: Marina Chavez)

Q: You said you’re not a rock and roller. Were you surprised that you just got nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

A: Well, it’s either, “Hey you guys, it’s a little late” or “What am I doing here?” But I was involved in that musical switch that started in the ‘60s, so I was a part of that.

Q: Do you think about honors and awards?

A: Not particularly. This is a nice one, though, I think.

Q: What’s your take on Dylan getting the Nobel Prize for literature?

A: I think it’s absolutely wonderful. I don’t understand the technicalities and semantic problems people have with it. I think his manners suck, and his words deserve the Nobel Prize.

Q: His manners suck?

A: Well, wouldn’t you call back and say, “Gee, thanks” if you got the Nobel Prize? You know, “I got the message!”

Q: You’ve obviously been drawn to Dylan songs in your career. How do you choose your material?

A:It sounds corny, but it’s absolutely true: A song chooses me. I don’t go looking for a certain kind of lyric. (With the album I'm recording), it kind of develops its own little arc and I’ll just see what happens. I’ve found a Tom Waits song, a Richard Thompson song, a Josh Ritter song.

Q: Are you ever just drawn to a pleasant pop song that has a catchy chorus and maybe not much else?

A: Sure. It’s not quite in the same category, but Donovan … it’s not exactly heavy-duty music, but “Catch the Wind” and songs like that I enjoy. In modern music, there’s not a whole lot I connect with, but then someone like Sturgill Simpson will knock me out. But a lot of the tween music is unbearable. My granddaughter is 13, and (sighs).

Q: I’d say the pop music when you were that age was better than now. Or, at least, more melodic.

A: The white music was melodic and pretty, and you had beautiful women’s voices like Gogi Grant and even the Andrews Sisters. Then I went directly to rhythm and blues, which had beautiful voices but not much melody in particular and pretty much the same chord pattern. I loved it, I was entrenched in it, but then folk music came in the middle of that for me, and made its own path. And it was part of the rebellion against bubblegum music, or music that is pretty but doesn't say anything.

Joan Baez performs in New York City on Nov. 17, 2014.(Photo: Brian Ach/Getty Images for ASCAP)

Q: Your last album title put your age right out there, which a lot of people in the public eye don’t do. Did you have any qualms about that?

A: It was a choice. We already had the program decided and my manager said, “Would you be willing to celebrate this birthday?” I thought for about two-thirds of a second before I said yes. In this society, we don’t like to face the future and the dying process and all of it. Most of us really don’t want to think about it, but it’s facing me in the mirror every day.

Q: I read an interview with Petula Clark, and she said she gets tired of reporters asking her about being in her 80s. Do you relate to that?

A: Well, no. People don’t ask that, partly because I look really young. (Chuckling.) I have started saying “80,” and it’s really creepy. But, I figure if I just say “80,” it loses its horror aspect.

Q: Different subject: Your Spanish album (1974’s “Gracias a la Vida”) is a classic and in a lot of households. Will you ever record in Spanish again?

A: I don’t know. There’s probably not much more than one album left in here. Seriously! I mean, odds are against it, honest to God, but you never really know. But with that album, I was so wrapped up in the politics of the time, with the Chileans that disappeared and the dictatorship, and that’s why I did all that. It was my own way of trying to do something and to cope.

Q: Is that what music is for you, a way to cope?

A: It’s a good question. It probably is. It certainly was when I was a little girl. I wasn’t popular in school, I was Mexican, I was all these inappropriate things. I started playing the ukulele and taking it to school, and I realized people liked listening to it. I would play it to comfort myself at home, and I’d play rhythm and blues songs that had four chords. That’s how it started.

Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova.